PERFECT CHAOS

Newly appointed Global Creative Director at M·A·C, Nicola Formichetti, sits down with Kannagi Desai for his first-ever interview in India, as he prepares to rewrite the visual language of beauty itself

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When Nicola Formichetti is appointed to lead the visual reinvention of a global beauty brand, it's not simply a hiring decision. It's a signal. A reset. A pronouncement that M·A·C, at the cusp of its 40th year, is not chasing relevance, but redefining it altogether.

This is the man who turned Lady Gaga into a generational metaphor. The stylist who made club-kid chaos feel couture. The creative director who shaped Diesel's rebellious comeback and Mugler's futuristic arc before it became TikTok shorthand. But at M·A·C, he isn't styling faces. He's shaping a feeling. As Global Creative Director, Formichetti's role is expansive. He will lead product, packaging, storytelling, campaigns, cultural cues, digital immersion, and the architecture of imagination itself. What beauty looks like, and more importantly, what it means, from now on, is partially his prerogative.

Rebel Rebel

We meet in the midst of moodboards. Casting decks spill into photo references and scribbled phrases. "I've been thinking a lot about how to create images that feel emotional," he says, scanning through a folder simply titled FEELS. "Not just striking, but also deep. Beauty that sticks in your brain and hits your heart."